Volunteer Stories
David & Jack Arrington
David & Jack Arrington
David and Jack, the Arrington brothers, have been some of the Food Bank’s most committed long-term volunteers since starting in 2014. The pair have contributed thousands of volunteer hours, helped pack hundreds of thousands of meals, and have both been recognized with awards for their volunteering. Sadly, Jack passed away in 2020, but David has carried on his generous spirit and continues to volunteer to this day.
David and Jack helped develop the Kernel program that is now a staple of the NTFB volunteer experience today. As Kernels, they welcomed and encouraged countless volunteers and trained new volunteer leaders. Other regular volunteers often attribute the Arringtons as the reason they kept coming back.
Through the brothers’ tenure, the Food Bank has gone through monumental changes. They began volunteering with the North Texas Food Bank at the Cockerell Hill facility and the warehouse on Dan Morton Drive and continued after the move to the Perot Family Campus in Plano. Recently, David has worked extensively with the Texas National Guard during the pandemic to help meet the need which was exacerbated by COVID-19. He recommends volunteering at the Food Bank to everyone. “It is a very rewarding experience... You’ll leave here feeling good about yourself even after one 3-hour shift, you can say that ‘Hey, today I helped somebody."
Mary Hinton
Mary Hinton
Mary Hinton, best known to all at the North Texas Food Bank as Ms. Mary, was one of the Food Bank’s most diligent and beloved volunteers. Starting after she retired from her job as a special education assistant in DISD in 2008, she devoted five days a week every week to helping pack boxes and lead other volunteers. By 2018, she had given over 12,600 hours of service to the Food Bank. As a long-time regular, she officially became one of the team when she was hired as an official NTFB production associate in 2018.
As a former educator, Ms. Mary particularly loved leading lines of student volunteers, whom she always treated with kindness and patience. She was a local celebrity, frequently asked to pose for pictures and give autographs to Scout troops and student groups. She was recognized with a Mike Snider Volunteer of the Year Award in 2016 and Fox 4 showcased her work as a “Hometown Hero” in 2018.
Ms. Mary always showed up for the Food Bank. After NTFB moved from its Cockrell Hill location to the Perot Family Campus in Plano, she continued to volunteer- and even took on a job at the Food Bank, despite the distance from her home – frequently taking the bus from South Dallas and walking the last half mile. And even when her health started to fail her, she would still show up to lead her line from a sitting position.
Ms. Mary was a passionate hunger fighter. She overcame every challenge to continue serving the Food Bank, and she touched tens of thousands who received nutritious food as a result of her work. While she passed away in 2020, she will always be remembered at the North Texas Food Bank as one of our foremost hunger fighters.
Max Chesser & Jill Mendenhall
Jill Mendenhall and Max Chesser
Jill Mendenhall and Max Chesser have been volunteering with the North Texas Food Bank for over three years since they both retired from their corporate careers. Notably, the husband-and-wife team are the only volunteers, alongside the deployed Texas National Guard, that worked in the warehouse at the Perot Family Campus distribution center through all of the pandemic lockdowns when NTFB halted its traditional volunteer operations.
During that time, Jill and Max worked nearly every position in the warehouse, from freezer to front line. “Anything new and different that comes down the pipe, chances are it’s not new and different to us.” Jill and Max think that it is important for everyone to remember that food-insecure neighbors are everywhere.
“I don’t care if you live in Collin County or wherever and you think all your neighbors have money, well you’ve got neighbors that don’t, and those families need some help," Max said.
Michele Mecca
Michele Mecca
Michele recognized her passion for helping the food insecure, especially children, by volunteering with NTFB and at over 50 Partner Agencies.
Michele started volunteering with the North Texas Food Bank in 2008 through St Andrew’s UMC in Plano. She began by delivering backpacks of food to elementary schools. She learned a lot about the community, food insecurity, and how learning is hard for kids on an empty stomach.
Michele became more involved in volunteering by joining NTFB’s Peanut Butter Committee, dedicated to collecting jars of peanut butter for kids. In 2019, she received an award from the Dallas Cowboys for her volunteer efforts with the North Texas Food Bank. This only motivated Michele to continue her efforts, especially as the Covid-19 pandemic hit North Texas leaving many experiencing food insecurity for the first time.
“There are all types of situations that people need help accessing food, and there are endless volunteer opportunities through NTFB. I love the common interest of the volunteers; some have even become long-time friends… I am truly in awe of the volunteers that I have met!
Michele currently serves on the City of Dallas, South Dallas/Fair Park Opportunity Fund Board and credits her knowledge of the neighborhoods she serves to NTFB. She was able to learn about the people in these areas through volunteering weekly through NTFB’s network of mobile pantries and community gardens and centers.
Looking towards the future, Michele hopes for nutritious food for everyone.
Mike Snider
Mike Snider
Mike began volunteering for the North Texas Food Bank in his retirement from the UPS.
Mike says there are many great memories from his time as an NTFB volunteer, and that “it’s hard to pick one story out, as volunteering helped me more than I helped the Food Bank and I enjoyed it a great deal.”
After volunteering at NTFB in South Dallas for 13 years, Mike hung up his volunteer vest when NTFB moved to the Perot Family Campus in Plano. He missed volunteering at NTFB, so he connected with a former NTFB volunteer coordinator and found an opportunity at Children’s Hospital and Manna House, a food pantry.
Mike continues to serve his community and has been volunteering at Children’s Hospital in the pediatric oncology department, and at Manna House helping people shop and sorting food, for the past 8 years.
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Since 2012, the four teenagers behind the Jingle Bell Mistletoe have utilized their creativity and compassion for their community to give back every holiday season. Stella, Trevor, Quinn and Isabella create and sell decorated mistletoe in December with proceeds benefiting the North Texas Food Bank. Their efforts over the years have provided access to more than 1 million meals to North Texans facing hunger.
Isabella
Isabella says The Mistletoe Crew’s decision to support the North Texas Food Bank is a “no brainer”. She believes being a Mistle Crew member is a fun and fulfilling way to fundraise and help people in her community.
One of the most touching experiences Isabella has had during Mistletoe was in setting up their Satellite Stands. She got to see how the community would carry on the legacy the Mistletoe Crew built. Specifically, one volunteer was moved to tears upon realizing how much they fundraised. “Getting to see the inspiration that the Mistletoe Crew embedded into our community is extremely touching. Getting to share my joy of philanthropy with others has made some of my best moments in Mistle Crew.”
Isabella admires how diligently NTFB distributes food to kids, people with dietary restrictions, and those needing a little extra help in the metroplex. Knowing the Mistletoe Crew is helping in this effort is extremely touching to her. She wants more people to know about the North Texas Food Bank and all the programs available. She feels if people learned the specific ways food is being distributed, like the Food 4 Kids program, they would see how impactful NTFB is to those facing food insecurity.
Quinn
The Mistletoe Crew meets every summer to brainstorm what they can do to improve their fundraising efforts from the year before. During the pandemic, they added a “toe truck” and added satellite stands to get more teens involved. Quinn says, “the week leading up to Jingle Bell Mistletoe, and the selling itself, is my favorite time of year. Our holidays are so much better because of it”.
Quinn and his friends toured the North Texas Food Bank and fell in love with the mission, environment, and people. He learned about the issue of food insecurity and the impact the Mistletoe Crew’s fundraising efforts have in their community.
Quinn feels a connection specifically to the cause of feeding kids. As a teen, he sees how easily others could be in that situation and how unfair it feels. He loves working alongside his three best friends and learning from all the adults involved in the fundraiser.
Quinn wishes more people knew the actual numbers of food insecurity in our community - 1 in 6 people, and 1 in 5 kids. Knowing the statistics and seeing how the North Texas Food Bank helps is impactful to Quinn, and he hopes others agree.
Stella
Stella knew the North Texas Food Bank was a special place the first time she visited. She was surprised to learn how the food bank can stretch $1 to provide 3 meals, and even thought, "the people working at NTFB are wizards, what they are able to do for our community is nothing short of magic. It is an absolute honor to be able to contribute in every way I can. Every cent we raise for them is a cent well spent."
Stella has many favorite moments from her participation in Mistletoe Crew, like standing in the cold with her friends, and smiling for five days straight while selling. But what stands out to her the most is the positive environment they create from helping others. Being a part of the Mistletoe Crew is empowering and inspiring for Stella. She credits her fellow members with being completely dedicated to the effort and loves the enthusiastic environment that pushes them to come up with new ideas to fundraise.
Stella wishes other North Texans would not only support NTFB monetarily but also get involved in volunteering. "While financial support of the food bank is vital, I also know the NTFB's volunteers are what make it run. There are so many incredible opportunities for volunteering, and each one is fulfilling and fun!" Stella knows this from experience. She has volunteered with NTFB's Child Programs, giving food to kids in the community. Seeing kids just like her facing food insecurity drives Stella's passion to help.
Trevor
The Mistletoe Crew’s efforts have been recognized many times in the community, including winning the Outstanding Youth in Philanthropy Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2018. But it is another recognition that stands out to Trevor – winning the Guinness World Record for the most people kissing under a mistletoe!
“This was a fundraiser for the Food Bank, and it was so fun to see so many people in the community come together for an event that you helped put on.”
Planning during the year and watching their hard work culminate in at the holidays is one of Trevor’s favorite parts of being a member of Jingle Bell Mistletoe. And it is even better because it is with his friends.
“My favorite part is collaborating with my friends all year and then watching it unfold in December. And then the feeling of finding out how many people we fed with our efforts – you can’t beat that. I wish more people knew how much of an impact the North Texas Food Bank and Feeding America are making.”